Dishonest Reporting: Media Bias Against Israel

Dishonest reporting has made truth a casualty of the war, causing grievous damage to both Israel and the integrity of the journalistic profession.

Throughout my lifetime I have had an unshakeable commitment to two cornerstones
of my personal value system: Perhaps three, if you include Canada. My first commitment is to this great nation, Canada. My second is to Israel as a symbol and teacher of excellence for all of humankind, and the media as the most honorable and
steadfast advocate, defender and distributor of truth, honesty, fairness, freedom,
democracy and human rights.

Tonight, with a combination of sadness, fear and anger, I must tell you that
[Israel and the media] are under grievous assault. And, even more painful for
me, even though at first glance those two pillars should be separate, I regret
to say, they are both threatened by the same cancer and have thus become inextricably
linked. This is because dishonest reporting is destroying the trust in and credibility
of the media and the journalists, and the same dishonest reporting is biased
against Israel, thus destroying the world's favorable disposition toward it.

Much of the world media have been taken captive by their own biases, or victimized by their own ignorance.

[Tonight] I make the charge that much of the world media who are covering the
Arab-Israeli conflict have abandoned the fundamental precepts of honest reporting.
They have been taken captive by their own biases, or victimized by their own
ignorance. They have adopted Palestinian propaganda as the context for their
stories. Thus dishonest reporting has made truth a casualty of the war, causing
grievous damage to both Israel and the integrity of the journalistic profession.

Dishonest reporting occurs in several forms. One is through the selection of
terminology which promote a presumed set of facts. [Many] biased media describe
the Palestinian perpetrators of clear acts of terror against Israel, merely as
"militants," "resistance fighters," "gunmen," "extremists." The terms "cycle
of violence," "moderate Arab states," "peace process," "occupied territories,"
and "illegal settlements" have also become tools and weapons used by the journalistic
propagandists. The war proves there is no peace process, there are no moderate
Arab states, the term "cycle of violence" is an insult to the truth, and under
the Oslo agreements there is no prohibition against Israel establishing new settlements
in the territory it captured from Jordan.

Some examples of profound media bias against Israel which result in this dishonest
reporting, are found in the world's leading media. Some of the worst in Britain
are the London Independent, the Guardian, BBC, Sky News, Reuters, Evening Standard, Britain's television network ITV and the Daily Mirror. In the U.S., the worst
offenders are CNN, ABC, CBS and NBC, the Washington Post, the New York Times,
the L.A. Times, and Associated Press. In Canada, although not alone, the CBC
provides the most slanted and biased information, and routinely practices dishonest
reporting.

Dishonest reporting tells you that it's about territory. Honest reporting would tell you that it is a war to destroy Israel.

The first and worst lie is what this war is all about. Dishonest reporting tells
you that it's about territory, and Jerusalem, and Palestinian statehood, and
alleged refugees. Honest reporting would tell you that it is a war to destroy
Israel and kill or expel or subjugate all the Jews. But the media has bought
and reported dishonestly and relentlessly the big lie that this war could be
ended by Israeli land concessions.

The second fundamental big lie is what gave rise to the current version of the
Arab war of extermination of Israel and the Jewish people -- the so-called al-Aqsa
uprising or intifada. The truth is that when Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat could
not get the extravagant concessions he demanded from the Clinton's Camp David
meetings, he planned the uprising of terrorism as a means of intimidating the
U.S. and Israel into giving into his maniacal demands.

But he needed an excuse, an appealing argument in which to clothe his new latest
war. And so, in early September 2000, when Parliamentary opposition leader Ariel
Sharon told both Israelis and Palestinian officials he intended to visit the
Temple Mount in Jerusalem, legally part of Israel which is co-sited with the
Muslim al-Aqsa mosque, they agreed and both Palestinian and Israeli security
detachments accompanied him on his brief tour. This was the opportunity Arafat
sought. He immediately unleashed the rioting, stone-throwing and armed attacks
allegedly as a "spontaneous" uprising against Israel allegedly in response to
Sharon's provocation! Then most of the world media bought the propaganda that
launched the second big lie of the current warfare: "Sharon's visit provokes
Palestinian rebellion." They didn't even ask the fundamental question: Is this
true?

The central, and conveniently ignored, fact is that the current warfare is merely the latest chapter in a war against the Jewish people.

The third big lie is that the current conflict arises from Palestinian frustration
over the slowness of the alleged "peace process." What utter nonsense. The central,
and conveniently ignored, fact is that the current warfare is merely the latest
chapter in a war against the Jewish people. That war began in earnest 85 years
ago, when in 1917, Britain and the League of Nations declared, with world approval,
that a Jewish state would be established in Palestine. The region's Arabs have
engaged in terrorist slaughter, riots and multi-Muslim states' military invasion
against the Jewish nation ever since. The only periodic lulls in this savage
and often barbaric assault, specializing in seeking women, children and elderly
victims, has occurred when the Arabs have been resoundingly defeated. Then, they
sue for peace, issue poor-me hand-wringing pleas for international help, and
use the lull in the battle to regroup, re-arm and plot their next assault.

Any reportage or commentary that is not clothed in this context is, at best,
misleading, or ignorant and plain dishonest at worst. I offer a handful of examples
extracted from the hundreds available:

Recently a nationally syndicated American columnist, Georgie Ann Geyer, wrote
a column laced with pure fabrications, such as "Prime Minister Sharon told his
cabinet recently 'don't worry about American objections to our actions, I control
America.'" When challenged, she admitted that the statement originated from an
October 3, 2001 press release from the pro-Hamas American group, Islamic Association for Palestine. They claimed that it had originated with an official Israeli government radio broadcast. On checking, it turned out that no such broadcast had ever occurred.

When confronted with this information, Geyer cowered ignobly behind the standard
liar's shield: her sources, she whined, "were two anonymous Israeli individuals."
Naturally, she refused to identify them.

As we all know, pictures can tell a story much better than words. So when 100,000
supporters of Israel marched down Manhattan's 5th Avenue to celebrate Israel's
54th birthday this May, the New York Times photograph was of a placard "end Israeli
occupation." The same bias was repeated in the coverage of the huge Toronto rally
in support of Israel where thousands of pro-Israel supporters marched. A few
hundred anti-Israel protestors dogged the parade. But they got more media attention.
The separate fact was that an innocent bystander, a Toronto Jewish doctor, was
standing on the street watching the parade and called out his support for Israel,
Palestinian supporter thugs beat him, and broke his shoulder. This was not reported.

A great deal of the dishonesty arises from the failure to report and the failure
to opine on many factors which must be considered in judging the Middle East
war. Such as: Failure to report on the depths of Arafat's corruption.

Failure to report the truth of an incident in March 2001 when a Palestinian sniper
looked through the crosshairs of his scope and murdered Shalhevet Pass, a 10-month-old Jewish baby in Hebron. Associated Press' headline writers declared: "Jewish toddler dies in West Bank". AP made no mention of who perpetrated the murder, and gave no indication of the ghastly nature of the crime.

CNN has reported that 30 Palestinian women have died in labor while being held
up at Israeli checkpoints. The story is a complete fabrication, generated from
Palestinian spokesperson Nabil Sha'att. To this day, CNN has neither published
a categorical withdrawal nor the main proven fact that not a single woman had
died.

In stark relief, two incidents from last March stand out. Two separate acts of
terrorism occurred on the same day -- an IRA car bombing in London, and the Palestinian suicide bombing in Netanya. On the BBC, the word "terror" was used to describe the IRA bomber, but they described the Palestinian's suicide by a far milder
term "militant." BBC has admitted that it practices a double standard.

But if nothing else in this entire sad and sordid story irrefutably demonstrates
the inherent media bias against Israel, it is the Jenin massacre myth on which
the herd of ravenous reporters descended with vulture-like hysteria. Hysterical,
hyperbolical Palestinian propagandists shrieked "Massacre --5000 innocents slaughtered".
Finally, when the UN commission declared that only 54 Palestinians had died,
and over half of them were armed combatants, the myth exploded. However, few
media apologized or retracted the charges of "genocide," "war crimes" and "heinous
Israeli atrocities."

Contrast that with a true war crime that occurred shortly after. It is an offense,
under the Geneva war conventions, for armed persons to occupy any church. Yet,
the whole world sat silently and did not condemn the crime that occurred when
Palestinians terrorists in Bethlehem occupied the Christian Church of the Nativity,
took its occupants hostage, and refused to surrender to surrounding Israeli soldiers.
Rather, the so-called world community, aided by a silent media, brought huge
international pressure against Israel to give up its barricade and let the alleged
terrorists go. When Israel bowed to the pressure, there was no United Nations
intervention, no Christian church intervention, and no condemnation of the war
crimes committed by the terrorists.

Too many of the journalists are lazy, or sloppy, or stupid. Others are, plain and simple, biased, or anti-Semitic.

It is timely, then, that we ask why is this happening? The answer is plain
to see. Firstly, too many of the journalists are lazy, or sloppy, or stupid.
They are ignorant of the history of the subject on which they are writing. Others
are, plain and simple, biased, or anti-Semitic. The result is that the biggest
casualties of the Palestinian-Israeli war are truth, and the integrity of the
media.

Every one of us must do what we can to correct this travesty. It is time to say
"Enough!" The solution starts on the campus, in the journalism schools, then
goes to the boardrooms of the media owners, and finally, and most importantly,
with you, the public. We must demand that the journalism schools do a better
job of teaching integrity more forcibly. Then, we must demand that our media
owners invest more money in educating their journalists and media operators.
On the university campuses, we must demand that the administrators of higher
education re-take control of the teaching process, to ensure that hate is not
taught, propaganda is not preached and that the revered term "academic freedom"
is never used as a license to libel, a podium for propaganda, and an advocacy
of hate. And we should withhold our financial support for those institutions
that fail this obligation of educational integrity.

And you, the public, must take action against the media wrongdoers. The issue
here is not the media bias against Israel. The issue is the media bias, period.
If we cannot trust the media in its reporting on Israel, how can we trust it
on anything else? And if we cannot trust our media, democracy and our freedom
are profoundly threatened. You, the public, must be more vigilant and aggressive by
your e-mails, your letters to the editor, your phone calls, your cancellation
of subscriptions, your refusal to patronize advertisers. You should establish,
in each of your communities, honest reporting response groups to call to account
offending dishonest media. And you must become politically active to demand government policy consistent with fairness to, and support of the only beacon of democracy in a swamp of hate, and violence and terrorism, the state of Israel.

It is time to vigorously and vigilantly become activists.

Don't think that you are powerless. Always remember, as it has been truly said,
that all it takes for evil to triumph is for a few good men -- and women -- to remain
silent. We are witnessing the most virulent, vitriolic and vicious explosion of
anti-Semitism, rivaled only by the rise of Nazism and its anti-Semitism in Europe
in the middle 1930's. Left unchecked, it will consume all freedoms, for every
attack of anti-Semitism in the history of mankind has always been a forerunner
to the destruction of liberty in other sectors of human endeavor, not just for
Jews. Therefore, I appeal to you, do not repeat the errors of your parents and
grandparents who passively and complacently witnessed Canadian government indifference to the rise of genocide in Europe during the 1930's. It is time to vigorously and vigilantly become activists.

As for me, I do not intend to be silent. I have carried on a love affair with
media all my adult life, and I have also been a staunch supporter of Israel.
At the same time, I am an unashamed and unrelenting Canadian patriot. I am not
going to stand idly back to watch any of the democratic ideals that made Canada
the envy of nations be injured, sullied or disgraced. At this time, the appropriate
position for all Canadians should be to stand tall in support of honesty in reporting,
as well as for the right of Israel to exist and to take whatever actions it needs
to battle its savage attackers, and to demand that our media and our politicians
act with honor in this quest. But, the question for you, my friends, is, what
are you personally going to do about it?

Visitor Comments: 27

(27)
Alison,
July 31, 2014 4:30 AM

Brilliant article

Thank you for writing such a great summary on this situation

(26)
Scott,
November 28, 2012 1:12 AM

CNN hypocrisy

From time to time I watch CNN and enjoy their programming. But their critical lense directed at Israel upset me greatly. They gave Hamas legitamacy. Spokesperson after spokesperson for Hamas and the PA bashed Israel. When Israelis were targeted, they claied "well only four died". They said who cares, Gaza is occupied. Lets be honest. Hamas wants to exterminate the Jewish people. They glorify the killing of Jews. They even have a slogan "from the river to the sea... palestine should be free" CNN was never a big fan of Israel in the first place. But their coverage was a disgrace. It was pathetic.

(25)
Alfred Dukes,
October 8, 2003 12:00 AM

My sincere condolences to his family.

I just read a second time Isreal H. Asper's above speach on the day of his funeral. It is great sorrow that this champion of truth had to leave us. His demise is a immense loss for all Canadians, Jews and mankind. Please publish in the honest media periodically his above speach.

(24)
Angela,
August 3, 2003 12:00 AM

Terror Media Films

All the Terror media films
http://video.hasbara.us

(23)
Gary Selikow,
May 25, 2003 12:00 AM

I want to Break Free!

“I want to Break Free! I want to Break Free! I want to Break Free from your lies, you’re so self-satisfied I don’t need you!’
These are the opening lines in a number one hit in 1984 by super-group Queen.
I could easily have written them, 20 years later to protest the prejudiced propaganda against Israel.
I could not possibly list all the evil tactics and strategies used by the media in order to vilify brave little Israel and whitewash the Palestinian terror.
Reuters, after a recent bus bombing that killed 6 Israeli civilians seemed to justify the act by claiming in it’s report on this atrocity that ‘the suicide bombings come at a time, when Palestinians are daily being killed by Israeli security forces who still patrol Palestinian lands’.
This in a report on an attack on Israeli men, women and children.
In South Africa’s largest daily independent newspaper ‘The Star’, the feature photograph on page 3, the international news page, is of ‘suffering’ Palestinians or appealing looking Palestinian children
Never are pictures shown of suffering Israelis or of Israel’s beautiful children, and seldom pictures of other people around the world, either.

The media made an icon of 10 year Mohammed Al Dura, who was apparently killed in crossfire, which was blamed unfairly on the Israelis (evidence has recently surfaced that he was deliberately shot by Palestinian snipers , in order for a propaganda coup against Israel.)
While ten month old Shalevet Pass, 5 year old Danielle Shefi (shot by an Arab Nazi while cowering under her bed) 5 year old Gal Eisenman, incinerated in a bus during a homicide bombing while being taken by her grandmother to a swimming lesson, and countless other Jewish children only merited a few lines , and no photos of their beautiful faces.

These lovely Jewish children are not remembered year after year (or featured on postage stamps like Mohammed Al Dura was in Denmark.
They are being killed with impunity.
The media bear a large dose of responsibility for this.
So quite honestly, when I hear that a British journalist died in fighting between Israeli forces and Arab terrorists, I feel nothing, because the same media felt nothing about the murders of Jewish women and children.

I believe that bias exists for palestinians as well; henceforth, I hope that the media biases cancel each other out.

(20)
david,
December 16, 2002 12:00 AM

right..... and now!

yes... IH Asper has hit the nail on the head...

and now...

the only thing missing here is the...

so [ACTION]

for [ACTION] substitute Join Your Local Boycott

in LA see

http://www.geocities.com/truthmasters/jointheboycott.htm

in NY see

http://www.nytimesprotest.org

in Washington see

http://www.boycottthepost.org

in Minneapolis see

http://www.minnesotansagainstterrorism.org

in Philadelphia see

http://www.netreach.net/~zoa

(19)
TED U.,
December 10, 2002 12:00 AM

Israel is alone

Anti Israel bias is all over the media of the world. The United Nations is vehemently anti Israel. Here in the United States, the Democratic left does absolutely nothing for Israel. The Government supports Israel with aid, but, when politically motivated, it will dangle Israel in front of its' enemies.
Israel needs to obliterate its' enemies that pose the foremost threat to it. Look at what Russia just did with the muslim fanatical terrorists at the playhouse. They were agressive and took care of their problem not unlike Israel did at Entebbe in the 70's. Where is the Israel of yesterday? When does Israel get over its' inner political turmoil and take charge of the problem? If Israel ever ceases to exist....the rest of civilization will follow.

(18)
Anonymous,
November 25, 2002 12:00 AM

Say it to all who will listen and twice to those who won't.

The first step towards peace in the middle east is for ALL Arab countries to officially sanction Israel's right to exist and pledge co-operation and trade. Then they need to acknowledge the right of other faiths to exist beside Islam. Then they need to teach tolerance to their school children, not hatred of anything not Arab/Islamic. Until then, sleep with a gun under your pillow.

(17)
Levy Goldbloom,
November 18, 2002 12:00 AM

Subjectivity is in the ear of the beholder

Reading such an article makes me perplex. Especially from someone who owns nearly all english-canadian private television stations. Why not use this to bias in favor of our brothers in Israel?

From someone living in french Canada where info is biased by Peladeau-based tv and papers

(16)
John Bookbinder,
November 17, 2002 12:00 AM

BBC at it again....

Below is a link to a piece on the BBC news website. It has got to be the most twisted view of recent history I have ever read.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/78601.stm

(15)
Beverly Kurtin,
November 16, 2002 12:00 AM

Objectivity

"t.w." shows just how accute the gap is between the truth and the propaganda. Recently, we had an individual at our congregation ask how we could support Israel, given all the atrocities that Israel has committed.

We nearly fell out of our seats! Here was an intelligent gentleman who had fallen hook, line, and sinker for the Arab propaganda. I say Arab because there is simply no such a group as the Palistenian people.

I ask this: is it true that Israel has "occupied" any land "belonging" to Arabs? Or are the Israelie people living on land it CONQUORED from its enemies? Are Israelies targeting innocent men, women, and children for destruction? Are Israelies being killed by "militants" or terrorists?

People of good will must examine whether or not the media is telling the truth or touting and parroting Arab propaganda. They will discover without much effort that the situation is the latter, not the former.

(14)
DeborahPeever,
November 15, 2002 12:00 AM

Thankyou For Your Honesty

I at times feel powerless because , my skills & standing are ordinary, just an ordinary person in extra-ordinary times...but I still do what I can ,where I am. I added honest reporting link on my web site, thankyou for YOUR honesty.

(13)
Anonymous,
November 13, 2002 12:00 AM

Intifada Lie

The summer of 2000 I spent several weeks at the Jaffa Hostile near the Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem.It is operated by Moslems.When I refused a job offer there, I was told by the owner's son that it was probably just as good for me to go back to America because there was going to be trouble in Jerusalem. I was told this in August- before Ariel Sharon visited the Temple Mount.

(12)
t. w.,
November 12, 2002 12:00 AM

where is the objectivity in this article?

Reading this article left me with one basic question: where is the objectivity here? As a U.S. citizen, I see overwhelming sympathy and support for Israel over the Palestinians. Israel is consistently seen as the organized society with a true government, whereas the Palestinians are depicted as a nearly leaderless unruly mob. Any survey of our national media will show this. What you won't find, though, is blind support of everything that Isreal does. It has nothing to do with laziness, ignorance, anti-semitism, or propaganda. Is it not likely that as with most things, there are no purely innocent parties in this conflict? Can Israel really claim to have never done any wrong, never overstepped any lines? How likely is this? And far do we have to remove ourselves from reality in order to see ourselves as faultless? Paranoia is rampant in this article (which major media outlet in the U.S. has been deemed acceptable by this article's standards? Seeing that the U.S. has been accused of being unfairly pro-Israel, there must be some mainstream publication which is not biased against Israel), which is unfortunate because it obscures a valid point. Truth is very important to maintain in the media... we just have to realize that the truth is not always flattering.

(11)
Sibylle Nirk,
November 12, 2002 12:00 AM

absolutly true!

Thank you for this story.It´s absolutly true.I´ve often seen it happen in Germany. And that make me very furious and sad. Israel I stand by you!
SHALOM
Sibylle from Germany

(10)
Mordechai Bendon,
November 11, 2002 12:00 AM

Al-Aksa Intifada myth

It seems that even Palestinian myths have infiltrated this article!

The so called "Al-Aksa Intifada" did NOT begin when Ariel Sharon visited the Temple mount.

Imad Faluji, the Palestinian Authority Communications Minister, admitted months after Sharon's visit that the violence had been planned in July, far in advance of Sharon's "provocation." "It [the uprising] had been planned since Chairman Arafat's return from Camp David, when he turned the tables on the former US president and rejected the American conditions." [Jerusalem Post 4th March 2001]

The Mitchell Report concluded “The Sharon visit did not cause the ‘Al-Aksa Intifada.’”

The murders and violence actually started 2 days before Sharon's September 28, 2000, visit to the Temple Mount. The day before, for example, an Israeli soldier was murdered at the Netzarim Junction. The soldier was killed after the first of many roadside bombs was set off.

The next day in the West Bank city of Kalkilya, a Palestinian police officer, on joint Israeli police patrol, suddenly turned on his Israeli counterpart and shot him in the head, killing him. That was the end of OSLO before Sharon had even stepped foot on the Temple Mount.

(9)
Levi Taylor,
November 11, 2002 12:00 AM

Don't forget NPR

Thank you for an excellent summary. I have only one comment: In listing the U.S.-based media agencies responsible for propagating anti-Israel propaganda, it is important to remember that National Public Radio is among the most consistent and virulent. That last is even more outrageous when one remembers that public money partially funds it.

(8)
Merrilee Morse,
November 11, 2002 12:00 AM

liberal bias

What really burns me is the fact that a liberal left leaning bias is the cause of all this media slant, yet the vast majority of Jews still vote for a democratic ticket. Wake up Jewish America! The right wing Republicans in this country have been and still are our biggest supporters.

(7)
Dani Miller,
November 11, 2002 12:00 AM

How to Help...

www.honestreporting.com is an aish funded project which I'm suprised you didn't mention.

HonestReporting.com was founded to scrutinize the media for examples of anti-Israel bias, and then mobilize subscribers to complain directly to the news agency concerned.

In a short time, HonestReporting has become a major international effort with 55,000 members, and websites in English, Italian, Spanish and Russian.

Join the fight, get a free subscription and lend your voice of complaint to make a difference to bias in the media.

(6)
Daniel,
November 11, 2002 12:00 AM

Dishonest reporting

I think that your articles should be published in the most prominent Newspapers of the world; thus reasonable people will understand the Palestinian propaganda and the media bias against Israel.

(5)
Mav levy,
November 11, 2002 12:00 AM

the only unbiased media network is FOX.....

I totaly agree with your editorial.. We as a civilation have got to honestly look at what media will do for ratings. They will say anything just to obtain a story.. This is such a diservice and actualy inflames an already bad situation. I am amazed that a suicide bomber is called a militant when he/she in nothing more than a cold blooded murderer. Terrorism is murder. Why do they not call it that? I look at what just happened in russia. Over one hundred people including terrorists were gassed. Not one nation has condemened russia. Israel negotiated for over three weeks when the church in Bethleham was held hostage and they were condemmed.. Sheer example of antisematism and bias in reporting.. My hope is that the ordinary person who watches the news does so knowing full well that it often is short sighted with only a singular view... God will always bless Israel and those of us who are honest know the truth.. Shalom Max & Sandy Levy

(4)
Karon Donahue,
November 11, 2002 12:00 AM

Even among college youth

I teach freshmen and sophomores at a 2 year college in Georgia. Among all of the comments within this article I couldn't agree more with the charge to educators to teach against anti-semetic views. Recently I taught about racism and institutionalized racism to my introductory Sociology courses. As a part of my lecture I introduced literature from the German propaganda archives to the class as a method of showing them how manipulative words can socially construct a whole group of people as being the cause of all the problems and evils in society. Sadly, a few days later I had a 16 year old cross high school and college student ask me if all we were going to keep talking about was Jews for the rest of the semester. Seemingly the point I was trying to get accross flew over the heads of one of possibly many closed minded people. On the other hand several people have come to me saying how now they view the words of the media with scrutinizing eyes and ears now. So, as above, I encourage other college instructors to teach people about the methods that the media uses to influence the opinions and perceptions of society.

(3)
Yitz Greenman,
November 10, 2002 12:00 AM

Excellent / Mandatory Reading for Mideast Journalists

Izzy sums up the major media issues quite well and this article should be forwarded to all journalists covering the mid east crisis as recommended reading. Many journalists are simply unaware of basic facts and need to be armed with the truth. Give 'em hell Izzy...!

(2)
George Miller,
November 10, 2002 12:00 AM

It is about time....

This Individual has taken the words from my own mind...Toda Raba....

(1)
fred hurst,
November 10, 2002 12:00 AM

the media reporting on Israel is a form of terror

I couldnt agree more with your article more, anti semitism is a cancer in the media. For the last 20 years ive bought the minneapolis star tribune, here in minneapolis minnesota u.s.a. and when this new arab war started their bias showed in a big way, so I havent bought their paper in more than a year. I know its not a lot but its doing something.

I'm told that it's a mitzvah to become intoxicated on Purim. This puzzles me, because to my understanding, it is not considered a good thing to become intoxicated, period.

One of the characteristics of the at-risk youth is their use of drugs, including alcohol. In my experience, getting drunk doesn't reveal secrets. It makes people act stupid and irresponsible, doing things they would never do if they were sober. Also, I know a lot about the horrible health effects of abusing alcohol, because I work at a research center that focuses on addiction and substance abuse.

Also, I am an alcoholic, which means that if I drink, very bad things happen. I have not had a drink in 22 years, and I have no intention of starting now. Surely there must be instances where a person is excused from the obligation to drink. I don't see how Judaism could ever promote the idea of getting drunk. It just doesn't seem right.

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

Putting aside for a moment all the spiritual and philosophical reasons for getting drunk on Purim, this remains an issue of common sense. Of course, teenagers should be warned of the dangers of acute alcohol ingestion. Of course, nobody should drink and drive. Of course, nobody should become so drunk to the point of negligence in performing mitzvot. And of course, a recovering alcoholic should not partake of alcohol on Purim.

Indeed, the Code of Jewish Law explicitly says that if one suspects the drinking may affect him negatively, then he should NOT drink.

Getting drunk on Purim is actually one of the most difficult mitzvot to do correctly. A person should only drink if it will lead to positive spiritual results - e.g. under the loosening affect of the alcohol, greater awareness will surface of the love for God and Torah found deep in the heart. (Perhaps if we were on a higher spiritual level, we wouldn't need to get drunk!)

Yet the Talmud still speaks of an obligation on Purim of "not knowing the difference between Blessed is Mordechai and Cursed is Haman." How then should a person who doesn't drink get the point of “not knowing”? Simple - just go to sleep! (Rama - OC 695:2)

All this applies to individuals. But the question remains - does drinking on Purim adversely affect the collective social health of the Jewish community?

The aversion to alcoholism is engrained into Jewish consciousness from a number of Biblical and Talmudic sources. There are the rebuking words of prophets - Isaiah 28:1, Hosea 3:1 with Rashi, and Amos 6:6, and the Zohar says that "The wicked stray after wine" (Midrash Ne'alam Parshat Vayera).

It is well known that the rate of alcoholism among Jews has historically been very low. Numerous medical, psychological and sociological studies have confirmed this. The connection between Judaism and sobriety is so evident, that the following conversation is reported by Lawrence Kelemen in "Permission to Receive":

When Dr. Mark Keller, editor of the Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol, commented that "practically all Jews do drink, and yet all the world knows that Jews hardly ever become alcoholics," his colleague, Dr. Howard Haggard, director of Yale's Laboratory of Applied Physiology, jokingly proposed converting alcoholics to the Jewish religion in order to immerse them in a culture with healthy attitudes toward drinking!

Perhaps we could suggest that it is precisely because of the use of alcohol in traditional ceremonies (Kiddush, Bris, Purim, etc.), that Jews experience such low rates of alcoholism. This ceremonial usage may actually act like an inoculation - i.e. injecting a safe amount that keeps the disease away.

Of course, as we said earlier, all this needs to be monitored with good common sense. Yet in my personal experience - having been in the company of Torah scholars who were totally drunk on Purim - they acted with extreme gentleness and joy. Amid the Jewish songs and beautiful words of Torah, every year the event is, for me, very special.

Adar 12 marks the dedication of Herod's renovations on the second Holy Temple in Jerusalem in 11 BCE. Herod was king of Judea in the first century BCE who constructed grand projects like the fortresses at Masada and Herodium, the city of Caesarea, and fortifications around the old city of Jerusalem. The most ambitious of Herod's projects was the re-building of the Temple, which was in disrepair after standing over 300 years. Herod's renovations included a huge man-made platform that remains today the largest man-made platform in the world. It took 10,000 men 10 years just to build the retaining walls around the Temple Mount; the Western Wall that we know today is part of that retaining wall. The Temple itself was a phenomenal site, covered in gold and marble. As the Talmud says, "He who has not seen Herod's building, has never in his life seen a truly grand building."

Some people gauge the value of themselves by what they own. But in reality, the entire concept of ownership of possessions is based on an illusion. When you obtain a material object, it does not become part of you. Ownership is merely your right to use specific objects whenever you wish.

How unfortunate is the person who has an ambition to cleave to something impossible to cleave to! Such a person will not obtain what he desires and will experience suffering.

Fortunate is the person whose ambition it is to acquire personal growth that is independent of external factors. Such a person will lead a happy and rewarding life.

With exercising patience you could have saved yourself 400 zuzim (Berachos 20a).

This Talmudic proverb arose from a case where someone was fined 400 zuzim because he acted in undue haste and insulted some one.

I was once pulling into a parking lot. Since I was a bit late for an important appointment, I was terribly annoyed that the lead car in the procession was creeping at a snail's pace. The driver immediately in front of me was showing his impatience by sounding his horn. In my aggravation, I wanted to join him, but I saw no real purpose in adding to the cacophony.

When the lead driver finally pulled into a parking space, I saw a wheelchair symbol on his rear license plate. He was handicapped and was obviously in need of the nearest parking space. I felt bad that I had harbored such hostile feelings about him, but was gratified that I had not sounded my horn, because then I would really have felt guilty for my lack of consideration.

This incident has helped me to delay my reactions to other frustrating situations until I have more time to evaluate all the circumstances. My motives do not stem from lofty principles, but from my desire to avoid having to feel guilt and remorse for having been foolish or inconsiderate.

Today I shall...

try to withhold impulsive reaction, bearing in mind that a hasty act performed without full knowledge of all the circumstances may cause me much distress.

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